Benefits & Benevolence

A Win

The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) together with the Give It Up campaign for the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) subsidy in India has been called a major game changer by leading economists and policy analysts in India. The most important and visible impact has been in terms of the savings to the State Exchequer, to the tune of several thousand million rupees. Most of it has been brought about by reduced pilferage of the subsidy money, on account of the benefit being transferred directly to the beneficiary.

Source: Give It Up portal

A good chunk to the savings has also been contributed by about 1 million LPG users giving up their subsidy as a response to the Give It Up call by the PM. As per data shared by the 3 largest LPG providers in India (Indane, HP Gas & Bharat Gas), every day several hundreds of affluent consumers are opting to let go their subsidies.

To give credit where due, the DBT underwent pilot implementation towards the fag end of former PM Manmohan Singh's 2nd tenure. The takeaway - for successful implementation the scheme is dependant on the availability and the linkability between the National Identification Number, Bank Account and computerized records, among others. Narendra Modi Government launched the revamped program targeted towards LPG subsidy in November 2014, after some preliminary work on the loopholes identified from the pilot roll-out earlier.

Sending the Right Message

I was visiting a family in my native village, along with my father, last December. This was around the same time when LPG distribution centres were asking people to fill out forms to update their bank account numbers for DBT. Like most other families in my village, this wasn't a very economically better off family. This came up in the course of our conversation, and the matriarch in the family was not happy with this additional 'hassle' that they are having to go through, something that they could do without. She also was thinking that the LPG price has actually increased, now that the family has to pay out more.

My father then explained that the government isn't increasing any LPG prices, but is simply transferring the subsidy amount to the bank account of the family. The distribution system would end up being more efficient, and the LPG quota per family and the subsidy will not be misused due to loopholes in the process.

I just thought, there will be several like the lady who hasn't really understood the revamped program - what it does for the people, or for the country; a problem of communication. May be it will grow on her over the years, with time. Made me also think about how many people really don't know that the LPG they are getting are highly subsidized by the State. This program will also end up creating awareness that the government is footing part of the LPG bill of every household in the country, at least those who have not given it up, yet.

The next steps

The obvious next step would be to extend this program to several of the other subsidy programs that the State runs. That would amount to another big win over corruption. But, in my opinion, the immediate need is for GOI to show to the people how these savings have been put to a better use. How is the money being routed towards fulfilling the objectives of the 'Give It Up' program? Or what other initiatives are being funded with these savings.

Source: The News Minute

Or how about our MPs letting go SOME of the unreasonable perks and subsidies that they enjoy at the taxpayers' expense. Or what about finally fulfilling the promise of One Rank One Pension, for the good folks in our Armed Forces? Unless proven otherwise, many in India are inclined to think that the savings generated thus is just funding the perks of our corrupt politicos, and 'down the drain' (to use a phrase someone used on my FB TL). Having seen the amount of money swindled away in corruption over the past few decades, I cannot really blame anyone for being skeptic. Some people would need to see more tangible outcomes before taking the plunge for programs like 'Give It Up'. People aren't worried much about money that the Government spends, as long as the spend has been judicious. Quite sure, several more would join in thus, for it also gives a feel-good factor, of having done something to contribute to the needy fellow citizens, and to the country.

These quick wins every now and then, are important for the optics - realities that will matter when the incumbent is up for re-election in another 4 years' time.

~Cheers, MT.

Vacuous Vanity

Rs. 780 crores spent by DAVP in 6 months till March 2015, says one of the news headlines today.

Source: Economic Times

The Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) is the nodal agency of the Government of India, for advertising by various Ministries and organisations of Government of India, including public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies.

INR 780 crore or approximately USD 130 million, is by no means a small amount of money to be spent in publicity, over a duration of 6 months, even for a developed nation, let alone a developing country like India. Especially when there are no Central Government elections around for another 4 years.

During Manmohan Singh's decade long tenure, this was one of the issues for which the UPA government had been criticized by one and many, including yours truly.

Source: Times of India

Not that the UPA had too many achievements to show off; the bulk of the ad expenses were done to praise the INC stalwarts of yore, especially M.K. Gandhi and the Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty. A birth anniversary, a death anniversary, a marriage anniversary and bang, out there on the front, back and almost every page of the nations leading dailies, you will have these 'praise the Lord', on-your-face ads. And of course, one ad would never suffice, for, every Government department had to fall head over heel to praise the Royals of the INC. This frittering away of the taxpayer rupees was of course not limited to these special days, but definitely took such nauseating proportions on these days. Besides the usual news reports, perhaps there are RTI queries out there on the interwebs, which inform about how much of the taxpayer money was spent by DAVP during the UPA decade on such frivolous publicity, or for appropriate publicity too. If not, I will look at ways to gather information on this. There are reams of material available on this criminal pilferage during the UPA decade. But then, that was past, and nothing much can be done about it, however strongly you may feel about it. UPA was booted out in 2014, so that's some solace.

Fast forward to May 2015, 11 months into the NDA Government's tenure, and we see the same of this being repeated. To what proportion, some RTI queries and a comparison can help lay the facts bare. The point being, why are such extravagant amounts still being spent for ads in mainstream media, when it was promised that things would change for better? For sure the Government's achievements has to be let known to the people. But, isn't there a more modest way to achieve that? 'मन की बात' on All India Radio (AIR) is one way to do it. Not only has the medium helped communicate to the widest possible audience, thanks to the wide reach and diverse audience of AIR, it has also been beneficial for the broadcaster, in terms of ad revenue which this program has brought in.

Source: Twitter TL of

@ARangarajan1972

But, every now and then, why do we still see such full page, multiple page ads in the nations leading (mostly English) dailies?

Anand Ranganathan (currently, contributing editor Newslaundry.com) was sharing his views on this shameful waste of taxpayer money, on his Twitter TL, and I was listening in. He mentions that a mere tweet can be 10 times as effective as such ads. I obviously had my doubts, given India's internet penetration (or the lack of it), and that Twitter, by some estimates is used by 22.2 million Social media users (17% of SM users, a mere 8.8% of Internet users; via The Hindu). I am of the opinion that instead of such extravagant spend on national English dailies, the Government can actually spend just a fraction of it in Regional Language dailies and ensure a much wider reach.

But, Anand pointed out, and I agreed, that a Tweet from the Prime Minister's Office will actually be lapped up by media, always way too eager for official sound bites.

And the way any news media works, print or audio-video, those 140 characters would trigger a cascading effect, and end up in the 24/7 news cycle.


Communication, no doubt, is an important aspect of governance - optics matter. And the current NDA government is way too aware of this, having been witness to Atal Bihari Vajpayee's defeat in 2004. In 2019, the electorate will judge the Modi Government not just on what the government had promised and delivered, but also, how much the change the government has brought in, compared to the pilferage of taxpayer money during the decade-long Manmohan Singh Government. I only hope these thoughts are being communicated to the powers that be in an effective manner. On my part, I think I will go ahead and use the MyGov.in portal to send across this message. Hopefully, with several people sending in the same views, the Government will pay better heed to the advise.

Message to the NDA Government - 'Be the change you wanted the UPA Government to be'.

~MT

Space, Sanitation, and Sceptics

The Indian Space Research Organisation, on 24th September 2014, successfully placed the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft in an orbit around Mars.

Two celestial bodies having a heart-to-heart

The flight took 298 days, from the launch to the successful insertion, and every aspect of this celestial journey worked out perfectly, as planned. Mangalyaan (मंगलयान), as MOM is also known as, is not the only spacecraft studying Mars from a 'close' proximity. Regardless, it did fill us Indians with a sense of pride about this significant achievement by our rocket scientists! There were however a few firsts, that MOM was able to achieve -

• India became the first country to successfully reach the Mars orbit on its maiden attempt. NASA, ESA and Roscosmos, the other space agencies to have reached the Mars orbit, had all been unsuccessful in their first few attempts.
• The technology demonstration by Mangalyaan has been achieved with a low cost of ₹ 454 crore (US $ 74 million), the lowest ever for a Mars probe.
• India has been the only Asian country to have been successful in a Mars mission. Russia is part Asia, though.

Mangalyaan is now successfully orbiting Mars and sending data and images to ISRO scientists as part of its other mission objectives.

A clichéd critique

The successful Mars mission brought with it some bouquets, as well as the usual brickbats, from around the developed world, as also from a certain breed of the Indian 'intelligentsia'. The criticism bordered around India's poverty and all the associated woes, more specifically the lack of toilets among India's millions. Sample some of these disapproving voices -

• Should a country with 'one of the highest rankings for childhood malnutrition in the world' be involved in space race?
• The Mars mission 'seems to be part of the Indian elite's delusional quest for superpower status'.
• India's Mars fantasy defies earthly woes.

In fact, this is a template followed by pretty much every media house, after every such technological breakthrough by India, and possibly by any other developing nation. Such stories would always start with a brief about the achievement, followed by the cost involved and then a lesson in poverty 101. India's going nuclear, numerous satellite launches, Chandrayaan, among others, are just a few cases in point. Here is one online enthusiast commenting on similar lines on a similar Al Jazeera article. The gentleman never got back to me.

While not entirely off the mark about India's poverty, such discourse always conveniently omits the cost-effective manner in which India has been accomplishing such technological feats. In fact, one of the primary objective of MOM was to demonstrate the low cost alternatives which India can provide for such interplanetary space probes.

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai's Vision & Narendra Modi's Mission

India's space research and space missions have always been grounded in reality. It has been a means to achieve the upliftment of India's impoverished millions - try solve real problems of man and society. It is not without significant dividends that India has been pursuing its space missions. The vast array of Indian satellites, like those of the developed world, has been able to successfully predict storms, cyclones and monsoon. Chandrayaan-1 was instrumental in the discovery of water molecules on the Moon. And as I mentioned in my comment, ISRO does generate considerable revenue for its own operations by providing cost-effective satellite launch services to various nations of the world, including the developed nations.

Space research and working towards better sanitation with poverty alleviation in a country of 1.25 billion people doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. The Prime Minister of India Mr Narendra Modi, for one, has been consistent in pushing the message of cleanliness and proper sanitation from all platforms in India, and abroad. In fact during the electioneering an year ago, he raked up controversy by asking us Indians to build toilets before building temples. In keeping with the goal for a cleaner India and a toilet in every home, a Swachh Bharat Mission ensues from 2nd October 2014. He has asked for a commitment from every Indian to give some time towards a clean India. I have my own plans for contributing to the cause. And as with many other areas that have benefited, I am sure our scientific and technological prowess would contribute to the success of this mission.

PM Modi after the successful Mangalyaan insertion said, "When you are trying to do something that has not been attempted before, it is a leap into the dark. Humanity would not have progressed if we had not taken such leaps into the unknown. And space is indeed the biggest unknown out there." There still will be naysayers, but, let us push our boundaries, and then push some more, push some more.

-MT